Apparently reacting to the nullification of the elections of Senator Napoleon Bali and Hon. Peter Gyendeng elections by the Election Petition Tribunal, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau State has declared that the judgment did not reflect the law and interests of the majority of the people as freely expressed at the elections.
Recall that the Election Petition Tribunal led by Hon Justice M.B. Tukur on Monday nullified the election of the PDP Senator, representing Plateau South, Bali, and House of Representatives member, representing Barakin-Ladi/Riyom federal constituency of Plateau State, Gyendeng.
Addressing newsmen in Jos on Monday, the State Chairman of the Party, Hon. Chris Hassan, described the judgment as a subversion of the will of the people of Plateau South and Riyom/Barkin Ladi federal constituency respectively, which was freely expressed by the overwhelming votes cast for the party and its candidates at the election.
According to him, the two persons won the majority of the lawful votes cast in their respective constituencies, with the APC candidates in a distant third position, adding that the premise upon which the Tribunal based its judgments was that the PDP had no structure at the time of the party nomination and internal squabbles had since been addressed.
“In this case, the PDP had since complied with the judgment of Justice S. P. Gang through a repeat congress in September 2021, which was dutifully monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as required by law.
“This same congress was affirmed by the Federal High Court Jos in a judgment delivered by Hon Justice D. V. Agishi in the case of one Augustine Timkuk vs. PDP validating the State Executive of the Party as duly elected, and this same judgment was also unanimously affirmed by the Court of Appeal Jos in favor of the PDP by Hon TY Hassan, Hon Justice I. A. Andenyangtso and Hon Justice O. O. Goodluck delivered on February 11th, 2023.
“The fact remains that PDP has a valid and solid structure through which our mandate was given, and we are optimistic that by the special grace of God Almighty, it will stand because the same position was affirmed by the 7 judgments of panel two (2) of the National and State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal, which is a sister panel to panel one (1). We take great pains to tell you that the decision of the tribunal on this matter utterly falls far short of that expectation” he said.
Hon. Hassan posited that the party is rejecting the judgment because it is bereft of substantial justice and a diversion of the undiluted will and choices of the Plateau people in light of the consolidated judgments recently delivered by the Presidential Election Petition Court in the Presidential Petition, which is not far from the petitions at the Tribunal.
He pointed out that the party has instructed its lawyers to appeal the judgment, adding that as a law-abiding party, it will explore all available legal means to restore the victory of the PDP.
The State Chairman of the PDP therefore urged party stakeholders and the people of Plateau State to be calm, be on alert, and continue to support Senator Bali and Hon. Gyendeng, adding that legal machinery has been set in motion to reclaim the mandate.
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